Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-05-23
the Assessment Again.

The ASSIGNMENT Again.
Last Fridays Tribune contained a
long and rambling article entitled, "a
Vigorous Defense of Assessor Charles Z.
Mason" The article is signed "Monte. "
and is intended to be not only defense
of tine Assessor, but also a reply TO a
short editorial upon that officer con-
tanned in the HERALD of the 18th inst.
We know Mr.. "Monte' very well, and
we think it would be much to the inter-
est of the taxpayers of this county If he
had less to say about, and less to do
with, the assessment for the current
year. In the first place, We did not, as
Mr.. "Monte" charges, accuse Mr.. Mason
of either "bad or criminal conduct.
We did say that if Mr.. Mason raised
the assessment of this county to Sl40,-
600, 600 we should consider him "eccen-
tric." We may say that if MIR. Mason
would not allow himself to be influenced
by Mr.. Morehouse and Mr.. "Monte" in
placing values upon property, he would
make much more equitable assessment
than he will by placing confidence in the
figures and statements of these gentle
men. We have had occasion several
times lately to correct the figures OF
these gentlemen, but our labor has, so
far, been in vain. MIR. "Monte's" letter
teens with erroneous statements and
misleading figures; but it is neither a
defense, vigorous or otherwise, OF Mr..
Mason, nor reply to our remarks. Mr..
"Monte" may be a very ''vigorous"
writer, but we fail to catch the full drift
of the following lucid sentence, which
is evidently intended to explain the line
of his argument and the unanswerable
force OF his logic:
"Any argument that is made should be
based upon its legal standpoint or else II
does not reach logical conclusion, Tor
when it is attempted to argue upon a legal
point and the law by which that point Is
established is utterly disregarded. the ar
gument itself fails 10 the ground for want
of just and legal defence"
We find, however, that we need some
such logical reasoning as tine above to
enable us to grasp the full meaning of
the following extract from his letter:
"He THE poor man pays nearly twice as
much, in proportion to the rich man, rho
is assessed at one-ffth OF the sctuai cash
value. while in justice he ought not TO pay
anything, for his little poss esslons do him
no good unless he can work them by the
sweat OF his brow, while the wealthy man
sits back IN his chair and waits for the rents
TO come into his Golfers"
Nov, as to "Mr. Monte's" facts" He
says:
at is claimed that the assessments of the
central and northern counties are much
lower than the assessments OF this. county.
j believe tnar to be an erroneous statement,
not based on facts in the possession OF the
State Board, which completely refute any
such comparison. Take, as an example, a
few instances: The assessment of this
county for last year amounted 10 only
$4,000 00O. including railroad valuation.
Can any one claim, upon an impartial eX
animation, that tnis is a correct assess
ment? Why. can pick out, in very short
while, forty men, the combined wealth of
whom, in assessable property, amounts to
more tlhu tndL DSuIt. compare lnlk Win
some valuations in the central part of the
6ta'e. The township of Oakland alone was
assessed at SIS, 900 200. Can any one present
tac;s and figures by which the fact can be
established thst the small and dreary
township of Oakland possesses as much as-
sessable property as the whole of the county
OF Los Angeles, with Its thousands of acres
of land, the richness and value OF which
cannot be found throughout the civilized
world it's immense farms and orchards,
the value of which Is settled fact beyond
dispute; its hundreds of thriving and boom
ing towns, vieing one against the ofher Tor
the possession OF refinement, culture and
wealth. The whole county OF Alameda,
viii its many swamps its soil unfit for cul-
tivation, cannot be compared in the In
trinsic value of its assessable property 10
the county Of Los les and yet that
county was assessed last year at ffty-nine
millions"
The above teens with erroneous state.
ments and misleading figures. Where
are the Hundreds" of Thriving towns"
in Los Angeles county! Is Alameda
county covered with ''swamps," is its
"soil unfit for cultivation" "Monte"
knows all about Oakland, but is it fact
that it is such ga small and dreary Town
ship!" Oakland contains the palaIial
residences of thousands of San Fran
ciscos most wealthy merchants and
business men. 1t contains the immense
bankers, wharyes, warehouses;, steamers,
depots and shops of four different rail;
way companies, viz: CeAtral Pacific,
Railway, San Pablo and Tu-
lare, and South Pacific Coast Railway.
And yet the "whole county OF Ala
media, which includes the ''smal and
dreary Township of Oakland" was as
sessed last year at less than $50, 600, 900,
railway assessments. "Small
and dreary" as Alameda county is it
contains somewhere in its ''swamps"
railway lines that are assessed at
&, 900, 900. Aud 'small and drsary" as
It is it is rapidly growing smaller"
We may mention here, parenthetically.
HAT as Mr.. "Monte'' blses his statements
upon facts in the possession of the
state Board" we shall alse confine our.
.slves to the hgures contained In theI
'l s